Latest news with #GraduatedDrivingLicences
Sky News
28-04-2025
- Sky News
Teen driver who caused deaths of three students weeks after passing test detained for two years
The mother of a girl killed in a car crash says the government's lack of action on reducing the number of young fatalities is "not good enough anymore" – as the teenager responsible for her death was detained for two years. Edward Spencer, 19, was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court for causing the deaths by careless driving of three fellow students while driving home from school in April 2023. Spencer, who was 17 at the time of the crash, lost control of his Ford Fiesta near Shipston-on-Stour just five weeks after passing his test. His passengers, Matilda "Tilly" Seccombe, 16, Frank Wormald, 16, and Harry Purcell, 17, all died. The teenager was travelling at around 64mph when he hit an oncoming Fiat 500 - two children aged 10 and 12 and their stepmother inside suffered "life-changing" injuries. Police say his speed was too fast for the road and the conditions. 2:18 Tilly's mother Juliet Seccombe recalled the moment she raced to the scene of the crash. "Immediately when I got to a junction the police were shouting down the road, I saw an air ambulance, that complete panic… you freeze… everything shuts down," she said. "It's devastating. Absolutely devastating. The birthdays, anniversaries, everything, you know, just being a mother… you feel lost… when you've lost one of your children." She criticised the government for not implementing Graduated Driving Licences (GDLs) to help reduce the number of crashes involving new drivers. "If graduated driving licences were in place this would have saved Tilly's life," she said. 'Do something about it' GDLs would see certain restrictions imposed on learner drivers - such as a ban on night time driving and passenger numbers - in the first few months. They are already used in countries such as Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. In Canada, deaths among 16-year-old drivers have fallen by more than 80% following the introduction of GDLs. "No action and procrastination is not good enough anymore," said Ms Seccombe. "It's no good just accepting there's a problem - do something about it. Doing nothing is going to cause some other family the pain and anguish we are going through." In 2023 around a fifth of people killed or seriously injured in Great Britain in car collisions involved a young driver - and the UK government says young male drivers are four times more likely to be killed or injured compared with other motorists. Despite growing evidence of their success, the government is continuing to refuse to consider them as part of its new road safety strategy. Previously it has said it is looking at options that do not "penalise" young drivers - a comment that has angered grieving families. "We're penalised because our son's been killed," said Toni Purcell, Harry's mother. "It's a double-edged sword isn't it. Our son is no longer here because somebody was driving without due care and attention. "If the government is saying it penalises young drivers, what about the families who've been penalised by the loss of their children?" The stepmother driving the car Spencer hit - who cannot be named for legal reasons - recalled to Sky News the moment the crash happened. "I was on a straight strip of road, and I saw a silver Ford Fiesta coming towards me round the corner and I could tell the driver had lost control. "I knew it was going to hit my car… and the only thing I could do is to tell my children to close their eyes because I knew they were going to die." Both children required major surgery and continue to receive treatment for their injuries. She is also calling on the government to reconsider its position on GDLs. "Young people have a disproportionate number of accidents; they cause a disproportionate number of accidents," she said. "I think that needs to change. There needs to be systemic change otherwise it's going to stay the same - we're going to keep hearing about it on the news." 'She was a beautiful girl' Mrs Seccombe said she wanted Tilly to be remembered for her beautiful smile. "She was a beautiful girl, and she was bright, she had everything to go for in life. Just a bright, happy, funny, spark. She was blossoming into a beautiful young lady," she said. Harry's mother said Harry's death has left a "massive hole" in their family. "He'd grown into such a beautiful, funny, loving, kind young man… he had such a kind heart and he always had a positive word to say…he was a beautiful character, beautiful personality," she said. Both mothers believe Spencer has showed no remorse since the crash. "It's made Tilly's life worthless in his eyes as far as I'm concerned - and that's extremely painful to accept," said Ms Seccombe. "I'm just really saddened that he hasn't reflected on his actions, and he hasn't learnt to atone." Spencer changed his plea to guilty in March, nearly two years after the crash. Detective Sergeant Stephen Barr, the officer in charge of the investigation, said it was a "truly tragic" collision. "Our thoughts remain with all those involved and affected by what happened," he said. "Edward Spencer was an inexperienced driver who made decisions on that day that changed many lives forever. "He and all the families affected will have to live with the consequences of what he did for the rest of their lives." A Department for Transport spokesperson told Sky News: "Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way. "Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads. "We are determined to tackle this, including through our THINK! campaign, which has a focus on men aged 17-24 as they are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than other drivers."
Sky News
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- Sky News
Calls for 'irresponsible' UK government to follow Canada's lead on rules for young drivers
The UK government is facing accusations of being "disingenuous" and "irresponsible" amid growing criticism for not introducing tougher licensing laws for new drivers. Officials in countries that already use so-called Graduated Driving Licences (GDLs), major UK motoring organisations and bereaved families say reforming the way new motorists get a licence will save lives. Sky News joined Canada's largest road policing unit and driving school to understand how GDLs work - with evidence showing that deaths among 16 to 19-year-old drivers there have fallen by 83%. Despite strong evidence, the UK government says it is not considering introducing them - claiming they "unfairly" penalise young drivers. "It's so disingenuous. You're downplaying what an important function and responsibility it is to be behind the wheel of a car," says Superintendent Matt Moyer, who heads up Toronto Police Traffic Services. The province of Ontario was the first region of North America to introduce GDLs more than 30 years ago. It takes at least 20 months to gain a full driving licence, with students earning certain freedoms in stages. Rules include new drivers not being allowed on the road between midnight and 5am, a ban on driving on high-speed roads and a limit on the number of under 19-year-old passengers. Many of these factors have featured in fatal accidents in the UK. As soon as GDLs were brought in 1994, there was an immediate 31% drop in collisions involving novice drivers. Maria Bagdonas is chief operating officer of Young Drivers of Canada, the country's largest driving school. "It could be passenger restriction, it could be a time of day restriction, it could be a blood alcohol or drug concentration restriction - basically the idea is not to take someone who is newly licensed and say here, 'go forth' in this crazy mad driving world and just let them - do or die, because more often it's the die," she said. She questions the UK government's decision to not introduce GDLs. "Is it irresponsible to allow the same thing to happen over and over again and expect a different result without any interference…or is it insane?" We joined new learner drivers in Toronto as they get behind the wheel for the first time. 2:01 One of them is 23-year-old Bapreet Kaur. She gasped when we told her that in the UK, learners can do an intensive course for just one week before taking your test. "Not everything is about freedom, you have to consider others as well. It's not just you driving, right? There are other people on the road you have to make feel safe." Another learner, 16-year-old Anthony Martella, admits it is frustrating how long it takes. "It makes me feel safe because when you're on the road you want that mutual respect with other people on the road as well…having that aspect of making it longer so people can drive and learn the ways of the road, it makes it better for everyone," he added. "It is a bit frustrating, but I completely understand why the rules are in place." Graduated Driving Licences are also in place in other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand. In 2023 around a fifth of people killed or seriously injured in Great Britain in car collisions involved a young driver - and the UK government says young male drivers are four times more likely to be killed or injured compared with other motorists. The AA, RAC, road safety charities Brake and RoadPeace, MPs and some police have spoken in favour of GDLs. The campaign group Forget-Me-Not Families Uniting, made up of those who've lost loved ones in car crashes, has lobbied the government to bring in the tougher laws - and last week delivered a 100,000-strong petition to Downing Street. 'People keep dying' Mia Pullen, whose brother Elliot was killed when a car he was travelling in smashed into a tree at 100mph in 2023 in Oxfordshire, told Sky News he would still be alive if GDLs had been in place. "It makes me feel really angry, and really quite disappointed and let down by our government because he would still be here and so would hundreds of other people's sons and daughters," Ms Pullen said. 1:57 She said the number of accidents mean something needs to be done. "I think they're making a very irresponsible decision. How can you not think they're the most important thing right now in the road safety laws. "People keep dying. You keep seeing it on the news, 'young person has been killed' or another young person has killed someone else because they're not experienced enough to drive." Back in Toronto, Supt. Moyer said there are challenges in enforcing the tough GDL rules. "You need an in. We can't just arbitrarily stop people because 'we think' or 'we have suspicion of'. We have to believe an offence has been created. "We have to be realistic - and manage the expectations of the community. I don't have enough people to pull over everybody that looks like their young at 3 o'clock in the morning - I don't have that," he said. But he is clear the system works. "Come out to some of our fatals and find out why there's 3,000 pounds of steel wrapped around this person and yet there was never any standard applied to them. "I understand there are some people who feel it might be an infringement on their rights to actually introduce laws. "These aren't laws, they are standards - and the more people who will accept that and abide by that, you've just made a major contribution to public safety in Britain." Ontario's minister of transport, Prabmeet Sakaria, agrees that GDLs are the safest way to learn. "We have some of the largest highways in probably North America and so we have to be very careful putting people onto the roads. "The data speaks for itself here, right. We've got 16-18 lane freeways here. Should someone who's just picked up their licence, really be able to jump on some of the busiest, fastest roads, should they be able to do so not having the experience?" 0:58 A Department for Transport spokesperson told Sky News: "Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way. "Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers."
